Improved device foe fastening shoes



NICOLAUS KIRCHNER, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. s

Lemie Parent Na. 75,788, dated March sa, 1868.

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Be it'known that I, NrcoLAUs Krnonnun, of the city of Philadelphia, inthe State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulLever-Fastening for Gaiters and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe constructionvandoperation ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making a part of this specification, in which-f p lFigure l is aperspective view of a shoe having mysaid fastening applied thereto, andthe shoe-lap closed and fastened down thereby. A

Figure 2, a like view of the same shoe and fastening, showing thefastening and t'he lap of the shoe as openedl for the application of theshoe to oues foot; andv Figure 3, a side view of the full-sizedfastening, as opened, for being permanently secured to the shoe orgaierv v Like letters of reference being used for indicating the sameparts when in the several gures.

The object'of my invention is to afford a simple and. moreeasily-operated fastening for gaiters, shoes, Src., whereby the wearercan with the greatest Afacility either draw the overlapping piece uponthe underlapping` i piece of a shoe and the' two opposite edges ofagaiter-boot together properly, and fasten them securelyin place,

or unfas'ten and release the same, as occasion may require.-

'Y My invention consists of a springy lever having one of its4enflsjointed to one endof a flat piece of metal, (which is providedwitha pliable spur or stem, whereby it can be readily and permanently fixedto the leather on one side of the shoe or gaiter,) and its other endformed into a transverse cylinder or head,` which will spring over andcatch under the opposite end ofthe xed plate, when the said lever(previously passed through a loop `or hole in the opposite lap or edgeof the shoe orgaiter) is pressed downward by the thumb or finger of theoperator, substantially as hereinafter set forth and described.

Referring to the drawings, A is the overlapping piece of the shoe, B thespringy lever, anrlC the llat piece of metal to which the lever B isjointed. The lever B-is a thin, fiat piece of spring-steel or otherspringy metal about three-sixteenths of an inch wide and three-quartersof an inch long, (more or lessa) having one end hinged to one end of theplate C and its other endlooped, so as to produce thereata transversecylindrical head, b', (see fig. The plate C is a flat strip of sheetmetal, about three-eighths of an inch Wide, having a transverse slot`inone end, whereby the lever B is attached, so astofOrrn the hinge-joint,and extending in'length about half an inch in a straight line, where itisbent to a` right angle, so as.V toform a projecting loop, c', (see gs.2 and 3,) over and under which loop-the head b of B will catch, when thefree end of the latter is pressed down upon it, (see iig. 1.) The freeend c of the plate C is narrowed to a pointed stem about half an inch inlength from theturn c', and in the middle of the plate C there is made asmall hole, 0', (see g. 2.) Several ofthe plates C, with the levers Battached, as described, are fastened permanently by the Shoemaker to thepart E of the shoe by forcing the stem, c, of each down through theleather and then up through 'another hole made in the leather` into thehole c, bringing the plate, leather, and'stem into close contactthereby, and then cutting oifr the projecting pointed end of ,the stern,and, finally, riveting it fast in the hole c', thus securing the severalfastcnings permanently to the shoe in the relation to cach other and thelapping parts of the shoe, as shown lin gs. 1 and 2. The overlappingpiece A ofthe shoe has loops, a! a', attached, or suitable holes madenear the edge of the lapping-piece A, through which the free ends-of thelevers B, respectively, can be readily passed, as Vrepresented in g. 2.I p i v The'shoeor gaiter isclosed and fastened upon oners foot bypassing the free ends of the levers B through their-.respective oppositeholes or loops, a', and then drawing the overlap A into its properposition, by turning and pressing down the lever B upon the plateC untilits head, b', catches under the projecting loop c', thus securing ltheoverlapping piece A in a properly-closed position, as shown in iig. 1.To release the overlap and 'open the' shoe, all that is required is.that the wearer raise the head end of B by his finger, when it will bedrawn upward by the released overlap A, and the shoe consequentlyopened.

This is a very simple and perfectly reliable device for fastening shoes,gaiters, die., and can be applied as readily to either, whether theyclose by a lappiug-picce, A, as shown, or by the edges of the twoclosingsides of the shoeior gaiter` coming Vopposite to or abutting againsteach other; "and it will he seen that the lever B enables the wearer tobring the closing sides of the shoe together with facility, and withoutstraining the ngers.

I wish it to be understood that Ifdo not intend to confine myself, inthe construction ofthe plate C, to the use of the pointed stem a forfastening the ,same to the shoe, as two tongues may be readily out outlongitudinally in the plate, so as to be bent out and passed downthrough the leather and clinched on the under side of the same, so as tohold the plate permanently thereon, in substantiallyr the saine manner;but, having fully described my fastening- What I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is confined to tlxc following, viz:l

I claim a fastening for shoes and gaiters, consisting of the springylever B and plate C, constructed and combined together substantially asdescribed, and operating, when applied to the shoe or gaiter, as a leverfor drawing the closing parts together, and as a spring-catch forfastening them in that position, as described.

I NICOLAUS KIRCHNER.

Witnesses:

BENJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MoRIsoN.

